In this Issue... Page February Meeting Recap 2 CBFD Indivisible San Diego 3 Protecting Our Immigrant Neighbors in La Mesa 4 Protest Photos 1 5 Protest Photos 2 6 Event Photos 7 Board Members 8
June 7 7 PM MEETING La Mesa Community Center 4975 Memorial Drive (social time begins at 6:30)
The progressive VOICE voice
The Progressive Voice is the monthly newsletter of the La Mesa - Foothills Democratic Club, serving the communities of La Mesa, Mt. Helix, San Carlos, Del Cerro, Allied Gardens, and the SDSU and other East County areas since 1984.
MARCH 2025
La Mesa City Council Meetings Tuesday, March 11, 6:00PM Tuesday, March 25, 6:00PM Link for live stream available at: cityoflamesa.us/247/City-Council
La Mesa Foothills Democratic Club General Monthly Meeting Minutes February 5, 2025 Location: La Mesa Community Center 4975 Memorial Dr, La Mesa, CA 91942 Meeting called to order by President Tina Rynberg at 7:01 PM. Pledge of Allegiance was led by Wadad Dubbelday. Tina greeted new guests and members. The agenda was approved by Mirian Plotkin and seconded by Rosamond Trujillo-Blevins Janet Castenos introduced guest speaker Charles Toombs-Professor and former chair of Africana studies, as well as the current president of the California Faculty Association at SDSU, his area of specialization and publication, focused on Africana literature. He is the Vice President of the California SEIU Service Employees International Union and an elected member of the SEIU international board. Dr Toombs, chairs SEIU Higher Education Council group on racial equity. He's one of six union leaders invited by Shanghai,China in 2018. In 2024 Dr Toombs was the California State University Wang Family Excellence Award winner for faculty service. He is an SDSU Dr, Martin Luther King, Jr, unsung hero and an SDSU faculty diversity award recipient and the African American educator of San Diego County. He is committed to anti racism and social and cultural justice, and is a national and local leader in these areas. He has presented on numerous panels and meetings addressing strategies for labor unions to prioritize anti racism and social justice in the organizing structures and other work, he has presented papers, shared panels and served on local, state and national and international panels at professional meetings and conferences, including lectures and workshops on African American literature and Africana Studies at Gorlovka State Pedagogical Institute of foreign languages in Gorlovka, Ukraine. Please go to our Website to listen to the entire speech by Dr. Toombs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dq-rodSJydU Video from Congresswoman Sara Jacobs and discussing what she and the House are doing to oppose 47's agenda. Tina Rynberg introduced La Mesa City Councilmember Lauren Cazares and La Mesa Spring Valley School Trustee Brianna Coston Lauren- The city of La Mesa is in full compliance with Senate Bill 54. This was adopted on April 3, 2017 was amended on February 7, 2018 and it's titled Patrol for Undocumented Persons. Senate Bill 54 provides police officers specific guidelines on their duties and responsibilities associated with immigration law enforcement, arrests and detentions. They cannot detain an individual on the basis of a hold request from an immigration agency like ICE or any others. They cannot collect any information about a person's immigration status, even upon arrest, they cannot provide information to immigration authorities regarding a person's release date or respond to requests for notification by providing release dates or other information unless that information is already available to the public. Brianna- Schools are supposed to be safe places, where ICE is not supposed to go on to the campuses. All children in the United States have a constitutional right to equal access to free public education, regardless of their immigration status and regardless of the immigration status of the students, parents or guardians. All students have a right to education. This is something that our school district takes very seriously. Senate Bill 48 is immigration enforcement on school sites that prohibits access, sharing information and law enforcement collaboration. Janet Castaños-What can we do- an information sheet on each table. Janet presented a slide show. The entire slide show was on the special edition of our newsletter. If you need a copy please reach out and it will be forwarded to you. Meeting adjourned at 8:37 PM Please go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dq-rodSJydU Rosamond Trujillo-Blevins Secretary/Assistant Treasurer, La Mesa Foothills Democratic Club
February Meeting Recap by Rosamond Trujillo Blevins
CBFD Indivisible San Diego by Jan Miller
Beginning CBFD (Committed to Building a Fair Democracy) was founded in 2016 around the simple idea that we have to fight Trump. We worked on the Clinton campaign, and were tuned in politically. Hillary warned us, and we could see with our own eyes, that he wanted to be king; a tyrant who would destroy our country. We were not going to sit back and let it happen. But how could we fight back? We had always voted, and a number of us had worked on campaigns, but none of us really understood that our democracy could fail. Like so many Americans, we took our basic rights for granted. Then Timothy Snyder’s book “On Tyranny" came out. We watched his YouTube videos and took deeply into our hearts the knowledge that American democracy was truly on the line. That changed everything for us. Indivisible Guide Then the “Indivisible Guide” came out. Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin, married congressional staffers, got together in their living room and wrote a 26 page guide for constituents based on their experiences with the tea party. Once online, the guide was downloaded 1000s of times. Across the country countless groups formed in both red and blue communities mobilized around the idea that citizens have power if they use it strategically. CBFD signed up as an Indivisible group and has been part of this massive movement ever since. Over time ‘Indivisible’ evolved from a practical guide into an organization with a national administration providing resources and guidance to groups located in every state. Local groups are independent, yet rely on ‘National’ for strategy and support. (Indivisible.org) Committed to Action From those early days of civic education, CBFD Indivisible evolved into a powerhouse that has affected elections across the country. We work primarily on federal elections. While other Indivisible groups in San Diego have focused on local government, rallies, statewide legislation and all sorts of things, we felt we could have the biggest impact doing what brought us together in the first place - talking to and persuading voters in federal elections. Jean Dittmyer’s leadership and use of the national voter database to organize volunteers has been the key to our effectiveness. Jill Miller has helped guide our volunteers to get things done. Ever growing, we are now led by a leadership team of 5 women. CBFD has hosted 1000s of phonebanks and that is what we are best known for. We have also put together Democratic debates, candidate meet and greets, canvasses, text banks and much more. We maintain a robust linktree with all of our actions - https://linktr.ee/CBFDindivisible.com We believe that conversations and ACTION are the key to organizing to save democracy. Now What? Since the Democrats are not in power in Washington, they don’t set the agenda. However, our elected Dems must use the power they DO have to fight back. Right now, CBFD volunteers are making 100s of calls to elected leaders across the country pushing them to stiffen their spines and become an effective opposition party! We are writing Letters to the Editor and visiting the offices of our elected officials to make our voices heard. We are reaching out to organizations working in our community to protect the most vulnerable among us and creating coalitions and common cause with Democratic clubs and organizations. All of this is done with the goal of making evident the toxicity of the Republican brand before 2026 when we will retake the House and Senate. None of this work can be done alone. Please join us when we gather to make calls and take actions. We welcome ALL of your participation! Jill Miller
Protecting Our Immigrant Neighbors in La Mesa by Mitch Wagner
Lauren says Democrats need to take Christianity back from the right. Cazares, 26, joined a Democratic majority on the La Mesa City Council in December, 2024 alongside fellow Democrat Genevieve Suzuki, who also took office around the same time. We wrote about Cazares’ priorities in January: Cazares Wants To Keep La Mesa Safe And Affordable for People (and Bees). We’ll talk with Genevieve in the near future and report to our readers about our conversation. For the second part of my conversation with Cazares, I was interested in her insights on how Democrats can win elections. Cazares was sworn in to the council in December, just days before our meeting on a sunny afternoon at the Brew Coffee Spot on Lake Murray Blvd., close to her childhood home. A lifelong La Mesan, Cazares identifies as Latina, a member of Generation Z, and part of the LGBTQ+ community. Because of Lauren’s life and political experience, I was interested in her perspective on whether the Democratic party has gone too far left. Are we too woke? She replied: “While LGBTQ rights and immigrant rights are important to me, they do scare a large chunk of people who you would otherwise describe as Democrats. It’s important we are still championing those rights and causes, but we have in many ways gotten away from the conversation of ‘how are you putting food on the dinner table?’” Cazares noted that nationally, unions chose not to endorse candidates in the Presidential election — a telling sign that Democrats are losing working people. “Those are our working families,” Cazares said. “If we’re not getting through to those people, where’s our base? If we have become a party that only cares about people who are making six figures, we have totally lost the plot.” How do we win back disaffected voters? Cazares said Democratic elected officials at every level need to get back in touch with working people and advocate for them—every day, not just when running for office. “Being an elected official is not something you do for clout, it’s not something you do because you know better than other people. You really are doing it to invest in your community and represent your community, and you can’t do it by not showing up for people always. If you’re only showing up for people when you’re on the campaign trail, that’s not the kind of person who should be in office,” Cazares stated. Democrats need to educate voters that they care about care about energy prices, opening and maintaining businesses, school safety, and police and firefighters showing up quickly at emergencies Democrats also need to reclaim Christianity from the right. She said she is Methodist and Genevieve Suzuki is Catholic, and their faith is important to both of them. “We have totally let the right steal what being `a Christian’ means,” she said. “We need to support all faiths. The church that I go to, and all the United Methodist Churches around town,are pro-Black Lives Matter, they are pro-LGBTQ community, they are pro-women.”She added, “I’m really tired of Baptist evangelicals thinking they are the only religion that is a real religion.” I asked about including people who are non observant or atheists. “They need to be included too.” I asked about including people who are non-observant or atheists (or Jewish-like me etc?) “They need to be included too,” Cazares commented. Cazares said being a part of the community, as someone who was a lifelong La Mesa resident, was key to her success Knocking on doors to canvass for votes, Lauren found she knew people at about one out of ten houses. “We are a city, but really we are a very small community.” She got to know the community over her lifetime. “I really enjoyed talking to the voters and getting to people I haven’t seen since the fifth grade.” Some people assumed she would be a carbon copy of former City Council Member Colin Parent, whose campaign she previously managed. But Cazaressaid she is her own woman. “I am still friends with Colin. He was a mentor. I think it’s really offensive to look at a young woman, especially a young queer woman of color and be like, ‘Oh you’re going to be a carbon copy of this white attorney. I’m not doing this to carry on anyone’s legacy.” Even so, she had hostile encounters in her campaign. “I had some really nasty experiences running for office, " Cazares stated. I had someone call me a fat bitch to my face. I had people saying all I cared about was the LGBTQ community and that I wasn’t welcome here, which is interesting because I was born and raised here. I had a lot of people assume that I moved here to run for office — but I’ve lived here my whole life.” Cazares added, “I was born and raised here, and it’s really important to me that people understand that I just want this community to be a place where people can live the American dream.” Mitch Wagner is a member at large of the La Mesa-Foothills Democratic Club Board. He lives in La Mesa, a short walk from Lake Murray, with his wife, dog and cats.
The City of La Mesa and the La Mesa-Spring Valley School District are protecting immigrants. At our general meeting on February 5, we heard details from City Council Member Lauren Cazares and school trustee Brianna Coston. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has launched raids in San Diego County since the inauguration, including one in Escondido, Cazares said. ICE had not come to La Mesa at the time of our meeting — not yet — although there have been many rumors of ICE sightings. The City of La Mesa has not adopted a sanctuary city policy but follows California Senate Bill 54 protecting immigrants. The city adopted instructions for the La Mesa Police Department in 2017. Those instructions, amended in 2018, are still current, Cazares said. Cazares read a section of the instructions on prohibited activity and asked that if any police officer is seen violating those policies, they should be reported to the La Mesa Police Department — although she noted there had been no violations to date that she was aware of. “There is a way for you to ensure that it is taken care of and nipped in the bud immediately,” she said. She added, “Our chief takes the safety of La Mesans, regardless of immigration status, extremely seriously.” The city has a police oversight board that makes an independent audit of complaints to determine if wrongdoing was done. Ensuring adherence to the policy protecting immigrants is “on all of us in La Mesa, not just on the City Council, to ensure that it’s taken care of,” Cazares said. Cazares provided an expansive list of prohibited police activities, including any official inquiry about a person’s immigration status; using immigration enforcement as a basis to initiate contact, detain or arrest any individual; detaining an individual based on a hold request from an immigration agency, including ICE; collecting information about a person’s immigration status, even on arrest; providing information to immigration authorities regarding a person's release date, and more. Republicans spreading confusion La Mesa Republicans are spreading misinformation on Facebook about the city’s immigration policy, Cazares said. “I’m not talking about elected officials. I’m talking about people who like to tweet and go on Facebook and rant, saying the city of La Mesa is going to get sued by the federal government because of our sanctuary city status,” she said. “The city cannot be sued by the federal government because we do not have a sanctuary city policy.” And since the city’s policy went into effect in 2017, not a single judge has ruled against the city on any level. However, she noted that if California’s SB54 is brought before the current Supreme Court, that could change. She appealed to white La Mesans to speak out on behalf of Black and brown Americans and immigrants. “It’s important that you’re able to stand up for us,” she said. The La Mesa-Spring Valley School District is taking similar steps to protect immigrants, trustee Brianna Coston said. Contrary to rumors, ICE has not been on Spring Valley school campuses. “Yet, as Lauren said, I’m sure that will change in the future,” she said. She added, “All children in the United States have a Constitutional right to equal access to free public education, regardless of their immigration status and regardless of the immigration status of the student’s parents or guardians,” she said. “That’s something that our school district takes very seriously. That’s something that I know a lot of the school districts in our area take very seriously.” ICE is not supposed to go on school campuses, though President Trump has tried to remove those barriers, Coston said. On enrollment, students or their families need to prove residency, typically with a utility bill. They need to show where the child is born, most commonly done with a birth certificate, but it can also be done with a parental affidavit. “All of our information is confidential. We do not give that information out to anyone,” Coston said. That information can’t even be given out for a subpoena. The board adopted a policy in 2018 to match state policies protecting immigrants. ICE needs warrants to access schools For ICE to access campus, they must show proof of a judicial warrant signed by a judge. The district immediately lets the board know and needs to contact legal counsel to validate the warrant before divulging information. “They are a guest on our campus. They have to sign in at the front office. They have to provide all sorts of information – their badge number and contact information. They will be escorted by people directly to wherever they need to be on campus. But this is only if they have a valid judicial warrant. We do not let people onto our campus that should not be on our campus.” Warrants need to specify who they are looking for and why. They can’t just be for general fishing expeditions on black and brown people, Coston said. Following a bond measure in 2020, the schools installed security measures to protect against gun violence, and now all schools have a single point of entry and fences surrounding campuses. “ICE could not just accidentally wander onto a campus,” she said. “They have to go through the front door. And it isn’t unlocked. You have to get buzzed into our campus now.” There are a lot of fake warrants floating around. But people can tap legal resources in the county to see copies of real warrants and fake warrants to learn to tell the difference, Cazares said. “Now is the time to get educated on that for all of us, not just folks who might have potential immigration issues, because often those of us who can read and write are the ones that are going to be helping people,” Cazares said. She continued, “My Dad has birthright citizenship. He is completely and totally functionally illiterate in English and Spanish because he graduated high school before they had ESL [English as a Second Language]. He’s very smart. He can speak English and Spanish perfectly fine.” She continued, “Do you think someone like my Dad would be able to discern the difference between a real [warrant] and a fake one? I guarantee he would not.” Schools have been training their whole staff, not just teachers, in immigration policies, Coston said. Cazares also talked about several immigration bills pending in the state legislature. One is Assembly Bill 18, the California Secure Borders Act of 2025. It’s a “crazy bill,” but fortunately, it’s authored by Carl DeMaio, Cazares said. Even Republicans don’t like DeMaio, so the bill is “dead on arrival,” she said. With other Republican support, the bill might have been more viable. On the other hand, a second bill, Senate Bill 48, would enact protections statewide similar to those in the La Mesa-Spring Valley School District, Cazares said. And Assembly Bill 15 would limit the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from cooperating with immigration authorities. Mitch Wagner is a member at large of the La Mesa-Foothills Democratic Club Board. He lives in La Mesa, a short walk from Lake Murray, with his wife, dog and cats. Contact Mitch at mitch@mitchwagner.com.
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The La Mesa-Foothills Democratic Club represents the communities of San Carlos, Del Cerro, Santee, La Mesa, Mt. Helix, Allied Gardens, College Area, Casa de Oro, and other nearby communities. Monthly meetings of the La Mesa Foothills Democratic Club typically feature office holders, candidates for office, community leaders and subject matter experts.
Tina Rynberg President
About the Club...
Janet Castanos Trinity Dubrow
OFFICERS President: Tina Rynberg Vice President, Membership: Katie Sigeti Vice President, Political Action: Chris Pearson Vice President, Programming: Brenda Miller Secretary: Rosamond Blevins Treasurer: Gene Mullaly Assistant Treasurer: Rosamond Blevins Special Events Coordinator: Merrill Perry Past President: Linda Armacost
La Mesa-Foothills Democratic Club Claude and Beverly Cassirer, Founders